Cohesion Policy is the EU's 'glue'

The President of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR), Kata Tüttő, has criticised proposals by the European Commission to change how the EU's regional-development funds are managed, arguing that the existing partnership between EU, national, and regional authorities has a "stabilising" effect on the European Union.

Cohesion Policy is the EU's "most important stabilising tool" and its "most important investment tool", she told an audience of Dutch regional politicians, and warned that proposals from the European Commission, which, if accepted, would come into force in 2028, would weaken "the EU’s stabilising glue".

President Tüttő was speaking at the annual congress of the Association of Dutch Provinces (IPO), which decided this year to meet in Brussels rather than in the Netherlands in order to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the House of the Dutch Provinces, which serves as the joint front office of the 12 Dutch provinces and of the IPO to the EU.

President Tüttő spoke alongside Wopke Hoekstra, the European Commissioner for Climate, Net Zero and Clean Growth, and Taxation.

The president of the IPO, Arthur Van Dijk (NL/Renew Europe), King’s Commissioner for the Province Noord-Holland, also leads the Netherlands' 12-member delegation to the CoR.

Quote:

Kata Tüttő, President of the European Committee of the Regions: “This event reminds me that Europe's strength lies in staying grounded in local realities. From addressing water resilience to navigating budgetary pressures, Dutch municipalities remind us why cohesion policy must remain locally led, not centralised. As we look ahead to the future MFF, it is essential to defend cohesion as the EU’s stabilising glue, and to build on a real partnership among EU, national, and regional authorities.”